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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — an injury
  4. season — in sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. object — to protest
  7. pass — a permit
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. march — the month
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — a city
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. march — music
  17. capital — money
  18. deal — to handle
  19. track — a song
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. object — a thing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. march — the month
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com